Sectional interior concrete form

ABSTRACT

Sectional interior concrete form having a plurality of sections. Two lower side sections have an upper longitudinal flange and are vertical members. Two upper parts of the form are corner sections, one of which is a key section. Flanges on each of its longitudinal edges, coact with one of the lower side pieces, and the other corner section. The other corner section also has a lower longitudinal flange complementing the flange on the other side section. Cross bars are included for spacing and adding rigidity between two side sections and between the two corner sections. Angle brace means are provided in each of the corner sections for strength and rigidity. Clamping means hold the mating flange edges together.

United States Patent 1191 Davis Oct. 23, 1973 SECTIONAL INTERIORCONCRETE FORM Joseph T. Davis, 8815 SE. 59th, Mercer Island, Wash. 98040[22] Filed: May 3, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 139,652

[76] lnventor:

249/165, 166, 167, 168,155,156, 157,160,259mg152,142,421,12,11,.119,175,1,33, g gg 185, 219 R [5 6] ReterencesCited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,245,477 11/1917 Loxterman 249/11 X 850,6674/1907 Mitchell... 249/11 X 853,954 5/1907 Blaw 249/179 1,171,176 2/1916Craig 249/1 1,233,509 7/1917 Rogalske 249/184 1,294,239 2/1919 Compton249/11 X 1,365,124 l/l92l Persson 249/178 X 1,535,023 4/1925 Kelley249/1 LaMare 249/11 Benson 249/168 X Primary Examiner-J. SpencerOverholser Assistant Examiner-John S. Brown AttomeyGraybeal, Cole &Barnard [57] ABSTRACT Sectional interior concrete form having aplurality of sections. Two lower side sections have an upperlongitudinal flange and are vertical members. Two upper parts of theform are corner sections, one of which is a key section. Flanges on eachof its longitudinal edges, coact with one of the lower side pieces, andthe other corner section. The other corner section also has a lowerlongitudinal flange complementing the flange on the other side section.Cross bars are included for spacing and adding rigidity between two sidesections and between the two corner sections. Angle brace means areprovided in each of the corner sections for strength and rigidity.Clamping means hold the mating flange edges together.

14 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures Patented Oct. 23,1973 3,767,157

lF'llGo 3 INVENTOR. JOSEPH T. DAVIS ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 23, 1973 2Sheets-Sheet 2 JFJZGO 4 FIGOS INVENTOR. JOSEPH T. DAVIS ATTORNEYSSECTIONALINTERIOR CONCRETE FORM BACKGROUND OF INVENTION The inventionrelates generally to the area of forms for pouring concrete and moreparticularly to a sectional concrete form such as for pouring culvertsand crypts.

As those skilled in the art are aware, present methods for erectinginternal concrete forms are time consuming and expensive. This is soprimarily because the forms are made of wood and the labor time involvedin assembling and removing theforms is substantial. A particularly largeproblem is removal of the forms after they have been used, since theworkmen mustget in side and remove the pieces one by one. Additionally,the normal life of wood forms is about five uses, after which the piecesare sufficiently damaged so that they cannot be reused. Most all squareforms require special shims and shoring or other special pieces whichmust be removed first before the forms themselves can be removed.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION The forms are comprised of elongated sections ofmetal, such as aluminum or steel sheet. The two lower side sections areessentially flat vertical pieces, the top edge of each of which isflanged inwardly at an acute angle. One corner section is the key orprimary section. It has a lower flange along its lower longitudinal edgefor mating or coacting with the flange of one side member. It hasanother flange on the upper edge which mates with a flange on the othercorner section. The lower longitudinal edge of the other corner sectionhas a flange complementing the flange on the other side member.Rigidizing or cross bar members interconnect both side pieces and bothcorner sections when the form is assembled. Clamping means hold therespective coacting flange edges together so that a rigid internalstructure is defined around which concrete may be poured.

It is among the many features, advantages and objects of this inventionto provide a self-contained sectional concrete form for internal formingsuch as for crypts and culverts. The forms are rapidly assembled anddisassembled and removed after a pour has set. There are no hinges to befilled with concrete and the forms are usable over a long life comparedto conventional wood type forms. The forms can be disassembled withoutthe workman having to crawl inside. The disassembly can be done in amanner of seconds by simultaneous release of the clamping means so thateach seam can be released quickly. Cross bracing lends rigidity andkeeps the side members from being pushed in or pushing the corner piecesup. By breaking the two seams on the key section, it falls out of thelocked position by its own weight. It can then be easily grasped'andslid out allowing the other sections of the form to fall for easyslide-out removal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing theform assembled;

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view showing the parts exploded to furtherillustrate details of the construction of the form;

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view showing the form sections assembledand clamped together with rigidizing and cross brace members inposition;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view to further illustrate details of constructionand placement and positioning of various subparts; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of one form of clamping means which may beused to hold the flange edges together.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The concrete form, generallydesignated by the number 10, has four sections. They are a side sectiongener-.

ally designated 12, an opposite side section generally designated 14, akey corner section generally designated 16, and another corner sectiongenerally designated 18. The sheet material out of which the sectionsare formed is preferably steel, although it should be recognized thatplastic, fiberglass or aluminum could also be employed. For purposes ofillustration only, the preferred steel sheet would be of about 10 gaugethickness.

Side section 12 has an upper longitudinal flange 20, which extends fromthe front to the back of the section. All sections are of the samelength, leaving the ends of the form open. Flange 20 is bent to an acuteangle of approximately to to the main section. Flange brace members 22are placed on the inside of the angle at spaced intervals along thelength of the section to brace the flange and to maintain it in such away that it will not be pulled out or bent closer to the main body ofthe form. Along the lower edge of the vertical side section 12 is anangle member stiffener having a vertical side 24 welded or otherwisesecurely connected to the inside surface of the section and a horizontalleg 26. On the top of the horizontal leg 26 at predetermined spacedpoints are secured cross bar retainers 28. Reference can be had to FIG.4 showing that three retainers 28 are placed along the length of thestiffener with one near each end and one located approximately in thecenter.

Opposite side section 14 has longitudinal flange 30 with flange bracemembers 32 on the interior of the angle which similarly to flange 20 isat approximately 35 to 40 to the main part of the section. A stiffenerhaving vertical leg 34 rigidly secured to the lower inside surface ofthe section as by welding also has horizontal leg '36 on which arelocated cross-bar retainers 38. It will be appreciated that thecross-bar retainers 28 and 38 are located directly across from eachother to receive lower cross bars 40. Bars 40 are straight bar meanswith depending end sections 42 and 44 which are received in thecross-bar retainers 28 and 38.

Primary or key section 16 is designed to form one upper corner of theform and has top panel 50 and side panel 52. Side panel 52 has flange 54extending along the entire lower edge thereof and is at an angle ofapproximately to to complement the obtuse angle of flange 30 on the sidesection. Top panel 50 has edge flange 56 also at an obtuse angle ofabout 140 to 145 from the main panel piece. Key section 16 is suppliedwith cross braces 58 at spaced intervals along the length of the sectionas determined necessary by strength requirements. An angle stiffenermember is provided on the inner surface of side panel 52 near flange 54comparable to the stiffeners on the side sections below. The stiffenerhas vertical leg 60 which is rigidly secured to the panel as by weldingand a horizontal leg 62. Additionally, cross-bar retainers 64 arelocated along horizontal leg 62 at desired locations.

Corner section 18 has top panel 70 and side panel 72. It has top flange74 at an acute angle complementary to flange 56 on key section 16. Ithas lower flange 76 at an obtuse angle on the side panel to mate withflange 20 on side section 12. Cross braces 78 are provided to maintainstructural rigidity of the section. The inside surface of said panel 72has a stiffener with vertical leg 80, horizontal leg 82, and cross-barretainer members 84. Again, as with side sections 14 and 12, thecross-bar retainers 64 and 84 are directly across from each other toreceive rigidizing cross bar 86 having depending end portions 88 and 90.

The cooperating sections are provided with a series of quickly securedand releasable clamping means which for purposes of illustration areshown to be conventional vise grips 100. In this instance one jaw of thevise grip is welded to the inside surface of the obtuse angled flanges.Both flanges 56 and 54 of key section 16 will have a plurality of clamps100 welded by one jaw to the inside surface of said flanges. When thesections are joined together, as seen in FIG. 5, the unattached jawengages the rear surface of the complementary acute angle of theadjoining form section. A series of five clamps generally equally spacedalong the length of each flange have been shown in FIG. 4 although thisnumber may vary depending on the type of clamp employed. A series ofclamps 100 are also attached to obtuse angled flange 76 on section 18 sothat they securely hold it together with complementary flange 20 of sidesection 12. In like manner clamps 100 have been attached to the flange56 of key section 16 to secure the upper edge of the two upper sectionstogether by securely holding flanges 56 and 74 together.

In the pouring of crypts, for instance, there may be several assembledforms in spaced side-by-side relationship. As shown in FIG. 3, woodfacing would be placed at both the front and rear ends of the form onboth the top and side and the concrete poured to the desired thicknessof, for instance, three inches. Prior to the pour, however, the seams inthe assembled form can be either taped or greased. After the concrete isset the top cross bars 86 are knocked out and the two rows of vise gripsreleased. The particular type of clamp shown is easily released by theuse ofa small dimension board being inserted between the handles andtwisted to separate the handles. By releasing the two rows of clamps onthe flanges of key section 16, it will either fall out of its own accordor with slight urging and will drop away from the corner. It can then beslid out without the operator having to crawl inside. Next the row ofclamps holding corner section 18 to section 12 are released and it toowill fall away and can be slid out. The bottom cross bars 40 are left inwhile the top sections 16 and 18 are removed to keep the side sections12 and 14 from falling in with the key section. Thus, it will be seenthat the angles of the flanges on key section 16 are such that oncereleased it is free to fall away. The same is true, of course, of theflange 76 on section 18 so that it is not impeded from dropping when theclamps are released.

What is claimed is:

1. A sectional internal concrete form for crypts, culverts, tunnels andthe like, comprising:

a. first and second spaced apart generally vertically disposed sidesections each of which has an inwardly acutely angled flange along theupper edge thereof,

b. a corner third section having top and depending side panels each withan inwardly angled flange along the edge thereof,

c. a corner fourth section also having top and depending side panelseach with an inwardly angled flange along the edge thereof,

d. the top panel flanges of said third and fourth sectionscomplementarily coacting, and the side panel flange of said fourthsection complementarily coacting with one of the flanges of said firstand second side sections so that the angles of said flanges do notimpede movement of said fourth section,

e. the side panel flange of said third section complementarily coactingwith the flange of the other of said first and second side section, and

f. a plurality of releasable clamping means holding the coacting flangesof the form sections together when the form is in its assembled state,said coacting flanges being so angled with respect to each other thatupon release of clamping means engaging the flanges of said fourthsection it is free to drop away and be removed.

2. The sectional concrete form according to claim 1 and wherein each ofsaid third and fourth sections is provided with longitudinal stiffenermeans on the inside surface of its side panel.

3. The sectional concrete form according to claim 2 and wherein both ofsaid stiffener means are detachably interconnected by a plurality ofcross bar bracing members when the form is in its assembled state.

4. The sectional concrete form according to claim 3 and wherein saidstiffener means include cross bar retainers for receiving and detachablyholding the ends of said cross bar bracing members.

5. The sectional concrete form according to claim 1 and wherein each ofsaid first and second side sections is provided with longitudinalstiffener means on the inside surface thereof.

6. The sectional concrete form according to claim 5 and wherein both ofsaid stiffener means are detachably interconnected by a plurality ofcross bar bracing members when the form is in its assembled state.

7. The sectional concrete form according to claim 6 and wherein saidstiffener means include cross bar retainers for receiving and detachablyholding the ends of said cross bar bracing members.

8. A sectional internal concrete form for crypts, culverts, tunnels andthe like, comprising:

a. first and second spaced apart generally vertically disposed sidesections each of which has an inwardly angled flange along the upperedge thereof, each of said flanges forming an acute angle to itsrespective panel,

b. a corner third section having top and depending side panels each withan inwardly angled flange along the edge thereof, the flange on said toppanel forming an acute angle to its panel and the flange on said sidepanel forming an obtuse angle to its panel,

c. a corner fourth section also having top and depending side panelseach with an inwardly angled flange along the edge thereof, each of saidflanges forming an obtuse angle to its respective panel,

d. the top panel flanges of said third and fourth sectionscomplementarily coacting, and the side panel flange of said fourthsection complementarily coacting with one of the flanges of said firstand second side sections so that the angles of said flanges do notimpede movement of said fourth section,

e. the side panel flange of said third section complementarily coactingwith the flange of the other of said first and second side section, and

. a plurality of releasable clamping means holding the coacting flangesof the form sections together when the form is in its assembled state.

9. The sectional concrete form according to claim 8 and wherein each ofsaid third and fourth sections is provided with longitudinal stiffenermeans on the inside surface of its side panel.

10. The sectional concrete form according to claim 9 and wherein both ofsaid stiffener means are detachably interconnected by a plurality ofcross bar bracing members when the form is in its assembled state.

11. The sectional concrete form according to claim 10 and wherein saidstiffener means include cross bar retainers for receiving and detachablyholding the ends of said cross bar bracing members.

12. The sectional concrete form according to claim 8 and wherein each ofsaid first and second side sections is provided with longitudinalstiffener means on the inside surface thereof.

13. The sectional concrete form according to claim 12 and wherein bothof said stiffener means are detachably interconnected by a plurality ofcross bar bracing members when the form is in its assembled state.

14. The sectional concrete form according to claim 13 and wherein saidstiffener means include cross bar retainers for receiving and detachablyholding the ends of said cross bar bracing members.

1. A sectional internal concrete form for crypts, culverts, tunnels and the like, comprising: a. first and second spaced apart generally vertically disposed side sections each of which has an inwardly acutely angled flange along the upper edge thereof, b. a corner third section having top and depending side panels each with an inwardly angled flange along the edge thereof, c. a corner fourth section also having top and depending side panels each with an inwardly angled flange along the edge thereof, d. the top panel flanges of said third and fourth sections complementarily coacting, and the sidE panel flange of said fourth section complementarily coacting with one of the flanges of said first and second side sections so that the angles of said flanges do not impede movement of said fourth section, e. the side panel flange of said third section complementarily coacting with the flange of the other of said first and second side section, and f. a plurality of releasable clamping means holding the coacting flanges of the form sections together when the form is in its assembled state, said coacting flanges being so angled with respect to each other that upon release of clamping means engaging the flanges of said fourth section it is free to drop away and be removed.
 2. The sectional concrete form according to claim 1 and wherein each of said third and fourth sections is provided with longitudinal stiffener means on the inside surface of its side panel.
 3. The sectional concrete form according to claim 2 and wherein both of said stiffener means are detachably interconnected by a plurality of cross bar bracing members when the form is in its assembled state.
 4. The sectional concrete form according to claim 3 and wherein said stiffener means include cross bar retainers for receiving and detachably holding the ends of said cross bar bracing members.
 5. The sectional concrete form according to claim 1 and wherein each of said first and second side sections is provided with longitudinal stiffener means on the inside surface thereof.
 6. The sectional concrete form according to claim 5 and wherein both of said stiffener means are detachably interconnected by a plurality of cross bar bracing members when the form is in its assembled state.
 7. The sectional concrete form according to claim 6 and wherein said stiffener means include cross bar retainers for receiving and detachably holding the ends of said cross bar bracing members.
 8. A sectional internal concrete form for crypts, culverts, tunnels and the like, comprising: a. first and second spaced apart generally vertically disposed side sections each of which has an inwardly angled flange along the upper edge thereof, each of said flanges forming an acute angle to its respective panel, b. a corner third section having top and depending side panels each with an inwardly angled flange along the edge thereof, the flange on said top panel forming an acute angle to its panel and the flange on said side panel forming an obtuse angle to its panel, c. a corner fourth section also having top and depending side panels each with an inwardly angled flange along the edge thereof, each of said flanges forming an obtuse angle to its respective panel, d. the top panel flanges of said third and fourth sections complementarily coacting, and the side panel flange of said fourth section complementarily coacting with one of the flanges of said first and second side sections so that the angles of said flanges do not impede movement of said fourth section, e. the side panel flange of said third section complementarily coacting with the flange of the other of said first and second side section, and f. a plurality of releasable clamping means holding the coacting flanges of the form sections together when the form is in its assembled state.
 9. The sectional concrete form according to claim 8 and wherein each of said third and fourth sections is provided with longitudinal stiffener means on the inside surface of its side panel.
 10. The sectional concrete form according to claim 9 and wherein both of said stiffener means are detachably interconnected by a plurality of cross bar bracing members when the form is in its assembled state.
 11. The sectional concrete form according to claim 10 and wherein said stiffener means include cross bar retainers for receiving and detachably holding the ends of said cross bar bracing members.
 12. The sectional concrete form according to claim 8 and wherein each of said first and second side sections is provided with longitudinal stiffener means on the inside surface thereof.
 13. The sectional concrete form according to claim 12 and wherein both of said stiffener means are detachably interconnected by a plurality of cross bar bracing members when the form is in its assembled state.
 14. The sectional concrete form according to claim 13 and wherein said stiffener means include cross bar retainers for receiving and detachably holding the ends of said cross bar bracing members. 